To Drug Test Or Not? - Firefighter gets busted
To Drug Test Or Not?
By SHEILA AHERN
Earlier this month a firefighter was charged with possession of a controlled substance, but the city is no closer to implementing random drug tests for its employees.
``I haven’t thought much about it,'' Mayor Roy Scott said. ``Right now, the only people that have to take (random drug tests) are people with CDL’s (commercial driver’s licenses).''
However, in June, Scott said he would not be against a random drug testing policy for all city employees.
``I think it’s a good possibility,'' Scott said at a Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. ``It seems like everybody else is doing it and it’s the law.''
On Sept. 25, Frankfort Firefighter James S. Osbon, 49, 1257 Burlington Ave., was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Osbon, a former Frankfort fire chief, was charged after accepting 400 tablets of anabolic steroids, called methandrostenolone, packed in an envelope from Thailand.
The Indiana State Police were contacted by U.S. Customs agents on Sept. 24 about the package. It was addressed to Mr. Jim Osbon at his Frankfort address, according to the police affidavit.
Osbon’s charge was bumped from a Class D felony to a Class C felony because he lives within 1,000 feet of TPA Park. A jury trial is slated for Jan. 29.
On Oct. 12, Osbon was placed on administrative leave without pay by the Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety pending the result of his criminal charges.
Osbon’s charge may not necessarily influence city employee policies, Scott added.
``Sure, I was concerned when I heard,'' Scott said about Osbon’s charge. ``But at this point we haven’t discussed it. To get this going, it would take some work.''
Fire Chief Chuck Toney said he would also not be against random drug testing.
``We are public servants who report to the public,'' Toney said. ``I’m not opposed to it at all.''
Firefighters are given a drug screening when they are first hired, Toney added.
Currently, only the utility and street department employees participate in random drug tests because those employees use commercial driver’s licenses.
Both the street department and the utility employees use a company called Midwest Toxicology, Indianapolis, for their random drug testing.
Check that off my list of careers...
Guess I ain't gonna be a firefighter.:D
Read What [i]Isn't[/i] Written . . .
Quote:
Originally in the article quoted by CYCLEON
Frankfort Firefighter James S. Osbon . . . was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Osbon, a former Frankfort fire chief, was charged after accepting 400 tablets of anabolic steroids, called methandrostenolone, packed in an envelope from Thailand. The Indiana State Police were contacted by U.S. Customs agents on Sept. 24 about the package . . .
Currently, only the utility and street department employees participate in random drug tests because those employees use commercial driver’s licenses . . .
Apparently, what kicked the action against Osborne was not a random drug test, but what the law calls "reasonable suspicion" - the tracking of the envelope from Thailand.
Even if there were a random policy in place (and many cities do have such a policy for law encorcement and fire personnel, such drug tests generally do not include testing for AS.
Since I hold a CDL, I have been randomized in the past (most recently a few weeks ago), and the issue of AS never arises. Why? Because CDL holders are given a "five-panel" drug test, which looks only for THC (the primary ingredient in marijuana), opiates (including codeine-based drugs), PCP, amphetamines, and cocaine. Tests are required on a pre-employment, post-accident, random, return-to-duty, and reasonable suspicion basis. The random rule dictates that 50% of a company's drivers must be tested for controlled substances per year, and 10% of a company's drivers must be tested for alcohol (blood alcohol content) per year, although a small company may have its drivers join a consortium (larger pool made up of drivers from several companies).
In short, if the city tested Osborne for AS, it is because they had reasonable suspicion (the package), not because it was a normal part of the testing process.
The fact that the article mentioned CDL holders is irrelevant to the body of the story, since drug and alcohol testing for CDL holders is dictated by the U.S. Departmet of Transportation, a federal agency. Random or other tests for law enforcement officers, firefighters, or any other person (including persons employed by private companies that have testing policies) are established by the individual agencies or companies.